Missouri Governor Arrested, Indicted

A seven-member Missouri House select committee will conduct an investigation that could result in the impeachment of Gov. Eric Greitens (R) following his arrest and indictment on a felony charge of invasion of privacy.

Greitens was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury Feb. 22nd on the felony charge, a few weeks after the Republican admitted having an extramarital affair with a woman in 2015.

But that’s not illegal —immoral perhaps, but not illegal.

However, as PJM reported, Greitens was accused of trying to blackmail a former lover, before he was elected governor, with a partially nude photo he took of the woman while she was blindfolded and tied to a piece of exercise equipment.

Allegedly, Greitens then threatened to post her picture on the internet if she told anyone about their affair; a charge which he has consistently denied.

That allegation resulted in Greitens’ arrest and indictment. Greitens is not only accused of taking the photo but with transmitting the picture “in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”

After being fingerprinted and booked, Greitens released a statement that said although the former Rhodes scholar “made a personal mistake,” he “did not commit a crime.”

House Speaker Todd Richardson spent last weekend selecting the committee’s members before setting them to work Monday. The panel will be chaired by Rep. Jay Barnes (R).

“Our focus is going to be on the underlying facts of the indictment and the circumstances surrounding them,” Barnes said. “This committee’s task is going to investigate facts. We’re going to do so in a way that is fair, thorough and timely.”

Greitens has steadfastly refused to resign because of the scandal, writing in a Facebook post that the indictment against him “will not for a moment deter me from doing the important work of the great people of Missouri.”